Elevator indicating mechanism.



PATBNTED JULY 28, 1903.

I F. s PAYNE. ELEVATOR INDIGATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED .NOV. 25. 1902. no MODEL.

lfi'mwzscs [72067250]:

UNITED STATES Patented July 28, 1903,

PATENT OFFIcn.

FRED S. PAYNE, .OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELEVATOR INDICATING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 734,744, dated July 28, 1903.

Application filed November 25, 1902. Serial No. 132,774. (No model.)

To all whom it'mcty concern:

Be it known that I, FRED S. PAYNE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Elevator Indicating Mechanism, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters and numerals on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to an elevator indicating mechanism of that class known as mechanical indicators, and especially to the mechanism in which a pointer is moved to indicate the position of the car in the elevator-Well.

The present invention has for its object to provide a simple and efficient mechanism by which the indicator-cord may be connected with the elevator mechanism, so as to move the pointer to accuratelyindicate the position of the elevator-car in its shaft or well.

The invention further has for its object to provide a swivel-hanger having a hollow shank through which the cord may be passed to the indicator-operating mechanism and by means of which the indicator-cord can be led to any part of the elevator-well without disturbing the alinement of the indicatorcord and without the necessity of using a number of idler-pulleys for guiding the saidcord.

These and other features of this invention will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a plan view of an elevator indicating mechanism embodying this invention, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

The indicating mechanism comprising this invention is located at the top of the elevator well or shaft, and consists, essentially, of a reciprocating device or nut a, mounted on a rotatable threaded red I), having bearings in uprights o, erected from a base plate or bar cl. The not at is held from rotating by the forked end of an arm 6, attached to said nut, engaging or straddling a stationary rod or bar f, secured to the uprights c. The rod b is rotated from the hoisting mechanism for the elevator-car, and, as shown, the rod 1) has fast on it a pinion g, which meshes with a gear it,

loose on a shaft t', which is screwed or otherwise aifixed to the shaft j of the pulley 7c of the hoisting mechanism. The gear h is frictionally secured to the shaft '5 to turn therewith, which maybe effected, as herein shown, by a helical spring m on said shaft bearing against an adjusting-nut n at one end thereof and against a washer 0, which engages the hub of the gear h, the latter being thus forced into frictional engagement with a collar or enlarged portion 19 on the shaft 1'. It will thus be seen that rotation of the pulley-shaftj rotates the shaft 2' and the gear h, which rotates the pinion g and threaded rod or shaft I), thus producing movement of the nut a, longitudinally of the rod b. The nut a has attached to it a cord or chain 3, which is passed through the hollow shank or spindle 4 of a forked hanger 5, which supports a pulley or sheave 6, over which the cord is passed, the said cord being connected to the ribbon or cord, (not shown,) but which is now commonly employed with this class of elevatorindicators. The shank 4 of the forked hanger is mounted to turn or rotate in the upright c, and the forks or arms of the said hanger are extended at an angle to the shank or spindle 4,so that the periphery of the pulley or sheave 6 is substantially tangential to a line through the center of the opening in the shank or spindle 4,so that thecord passed through the shank or spindle and over the pulley 6 is maintained straight under all conditions and in all positions of the pulley, thereby allowing the swivel-hanger to be rotated or turned through a complete circle, if desired, so as to lead the cord 3 to any desired portion of the elevatorwell, thereby dispensing with the use of additional or idler pulleys for guiding the cord.

In Fig. 1 two positions of the pulley 6 are shown, that represented by dotted lines being diametrically opposite to that indicated by full lines. In either case it will be noticed that the cord 3 between the not a and the point where the cord passes over the pulley is maintained straight. The swivel-hanger may be fixed in its adjusted position by a setscrew 9 or in any other suitable manner. The threaded rod 1) is provided with suitable stops for the nut a, and in the present instance the rod has mounted on it at its opposite ends two collars 10 12, which are adjust- ICO able on the said rod and are adapted to be secured in their adjusted position by set-screws 13. The stops or collars 1O 12 are provided with lugs or projections 14.- 15,which are adapted to be engaged by lugs or projections 16 17 on the opposite sides of the nut a to thereby hold ,the rod b from turning when the nut a has reached the end of its travel in either direction. When the rod is held from rotating, the shaftj continues to rotate, but the gear h remains stationary, the friction between the said gear and the shaft being overcome by the positive stopping of the rod 1).

The indicator-operating mechanism herein shown is simple and can be placed in position at a minimum expense and in a minimum time and when adjusted is accurate in its operation. v

By means of the stops on the threaded rod any slip in the hoisting-cable is compensated for, and inaccuracies in the indication are thus corrected or avoided. In each complete travel of the elevator-carnamely, in its up and down movementthe nutis broughtinto engagement with at least one of the stops, and when thus brought into engagement the pointer or indicator is accurately positioned to indicate that the car is either at the upper landing of the elevator-well or at the starting position or lower landing, and this correction takes place at each complete travel or run of the elevator-car, so that every time the car is started on its run the indicator is accurately located in its starting position.

I claim 1. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a gear in frictional engagement therewith, a threaded rod, a pinion on said threaded rod in mesh with said gear, a nut on said threaded rod, a stationary rod engaged by said nut to restrain the nut from rotating, collars fast on said rod on opposite sides of said nut, a swivelhanger having an opening through its shank, a pulley mounted in said hanger with its circumference substantially tangential to a line through the center of the hollow shank, and a cord or flexible connection attached to said nut and extended through the hollow shank of said hanger and about the pulley carried by said hanger, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a rotatable shaft,a gear thereon, a friction device to secure said gear to its shaft, a threaded rod, a pinion fast on said rod and engaging said gear, a nut movable longitudinally on said threaded rod, means for restraining said nut from rotating with said rod, and means to limit the movement of the nut on said threaded rod, substantially as described.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a gear thereon, a friction device to secure said gear to said shaft, a rotatable threaded rod, a pinion on said rod driven by said gear, a nut on the threaded rod, collars on the threaded rod to engage said nut at the end of its travel in opposite directions, a stationary rod engaged by said nut to prevent the latter from rotating, substantially as described.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, in combination, a rotatable shaft, a rotatable rod, means for frictionally connecting said shaft with said rod, a device movable longitudinally on said rod, means to limit said device in its movement, and a flexible connection attached to said device to move therewith, a swivel-hanger having a hollow shank through which the flexible connection is passed, and a pulley carried by said hanger with its circumference substantially tangential to a line through the opening in said shank, and with which said flexible connection engages, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRED S. PAYNE.

Witnesses:

JAs. I-I. CHURCHILL, J. MURPHY. 

